The invention relates to a hinge, preferably a furniture hinge, comprising a hinge arm which is pivotably supported on a joint axle which is non-displaceably held in a cup-shaped hinge part and which is provided with a tongue projecting beyond the joint axle or with a cam eccentric with respect to the joint axle or with a control edge which slide on a leaf spring whose one end region is held at the pivotable hinge part and which generates a closing torque in the closing region.
A hinge of the type previously set forth and known from DE 36 01 682 A1 has a leaf spring whose bent end is held in a slot of the base of a cup-shaped hinge part and whose middle part is supported against a spigot projecting laterally into the hinge cup such that the resilient end of the leaf spring acts on a control edge of the hinge arm. The lateral edge of the leaf spring reduces the width of the hinge arm and therefore also the strength of the total hinge. The lateral arrangement of the leaf spring means that it can only be made in narrow form. It follows from this that no large closing torque can be generated.
An embodiment of the initially explained hinge is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,956 A in which the leaf springs have two-sided tongues which are likewise made narrow and wherein the leaf spring itself is only fixedly held at the base hinge cup by a rivet. This likewise means that the leaf spring disclosed there cannot exert any great closing torque. Furthermore, the leaf spring generating the closing torque requires a lot of space in the hinge cup so that such a hinge cannot be considered for compact embodiments which are desired, for example, in thin doors.
A wire spring which is fastened in a complex manner beneath the base hinge cup is provided as the spring member generating the closing torque in U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,956 A. The free ends of the wire spring project from lateral recesses into the inner space of the hinge cup and are supported at side cams of the hinge arm. This embodiment is very complex and expensive and its effect corresponds to a hinge in accordance with the European Patent EP 0 987 394 B1 which originates from the same applicant as the present invention.
A leaf spring having a narrow and a wide region is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,622, with one end of the narrow region acting on the lower edge of the hinge arm wound around this joint axle which thus acts as a control edge. However, the spring hereby acts only in a small region of movement onto the control edge which moreover only has the thickness of the hinge arm and thus forms a poor lever. The leaf spring is moreover held by a bent over lug and two lateral bolts extending at right angles, with it being supported beneath the base of the hinge cup and therefore having to pass through a required recess so that its mounting is very complex and/or expensive.
It is the object of the present invention to further develop a generic hinge having components such as a hinge arm and a hinge cup which are easy to manufacture such that a leaf spring which generates the closing torque can be fastened more simply and thus in an economical manner in the cup-shaped hinge part, with the spring properties of the leaf spring simultaneously being utilized in the best possible manner to achieve a better function of the hinge.
This object is solved by the claimed features of claim 1. Accordingly, a hinge comprises a hinge arm which is pivotably supported on a joint axle non-displaceably held in a cup-shaped hinge part. The hinge is provided with a tongue which projects beyond the joint axle or with a cam eccentric with respect to the joint axle or with a control edge which slides on a leaf spring whose one end region is held at the pivotable hinge part and which generates a closing torque in the closing region. In accordance with the invention, the leaf spring has at least two portions of different widths, with at least one narrower portion of the leaf spring passing through a center recess of the hinge arm, with a tongue being cut out of the lower edge of said center recess, and at least one wider portion of the leaf spring being pressed against the base of the hinge cup by a transversely extending pin and thus being fixedly held.
Preferred embodiments of the invention result from the dependent claims following on from the main claim.
Accordingly, the at least one narrower portion of the leaf spring can have an elongate rib up to the transition region of the least one wider portion of the leaf spring. This means that the rib extends along the leaf spring. Due to this longitudinally extending rib, the bending of the leaf spring does not take place in its narrower portion, but rather in the wider portion which is held at the base of the hinge cup. The leaf spring absorbs a large force with a lower bend in this wider portion and in the transition region leading to it and its service life is in no way influenced by possible microbreaks originating from the production process. Furthermore, notches or cut-outs can also be present which give the spring the desired shape and which, however, can only insignificantly reduce the spring force due to the rib.
The at least one wide portion of the leaf spring can advantageously be pressed against the base of the hinge cup by a transversely extending pin and can thus be fixedly held.
The base of the hinge cup advantageously has a recess in the region in which the at least one wider portion of the leaf spring is arranged. The spacing between the transversely extending pin and the base can be dimensioned to be smaller than the thickness of the leaf spring. The leaf spring can have a transversely extending dimple at its region disposed beneath the transversely extending pin which optionally dips into the recess of the hinge cup and thus holds the leaf spring in its correct and centered position.
The longitudinally extending rib can extend up to three-quarters of the length of the transition region between the two portions of the leaf spring at least present.
In accordance with a further preferred aspect of the invention, the hinge arm can have a recess from whose lower edge the tongue is cut out such that the lower edge of the recess has two portions next to the cut-out tongue onto which the leaf spring can be supported in the fully open position of the hinge. The spacing of the two portions from the joint axle can be equal to or only slightly larger than the spacing of the outer edge of the tongue from the joint axle. While the leaf spring is therefore supported on the tongue during the opening and closing of the hinge, it is supported on the additional two portions in the completely open position of the hinge.
In accordance with a further preferred aspect, the leaf spring can comprise two identical leaf springs of small thickness. In this case, the rib provided alternatively for reinforcement can be omitted. Corresponding dimples or beads also do not have to be provided in this embodiment.
In accordance with a further preferred aspect of the invention, the transverse pin can have an out of round cross-section. The transverse pin is hereby reinforced such that it does not sag as simply as a transverse pin with a circular cross-section.
The hinge arm preferably has edges in its curved region which are shaped such that they are offset with respect to the center part of the hinge arm provided with the recess. These shaped parts are therefore not disposed in the same plane as the remainder of the hinge arm. The strength of the hinge arm is substantially improved by this shape.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS